The Influence of the Tahmasebi Shahnamehon the Ottoman Shahnameh Writing Tradition

Shah Tahmasebi Shahnameh was transcribed between 930 to 944 AH/1535 AD in the Safavid Royal workshops in Tabriz and it,s one of the most valuable cultural gifts that has been sent to the Ottoman Palace from Iranian Palaces. This Masterpiece was presented to the Ottoman Palace in 974 AH/1566 AD to commemorate the coronation of Sultan Selim II by Safavid Shah Tahmaseb, and it was available to the Ottoman artists for more than three centuries. The aim of this study is to provide the researchers with certain criteria for comparing images in terms of their being Iranian or Ottoman. Reviewing of Shahnameh writing tradition in Ottoman culture suggests that Ottoman painters have used the Imaginative forms of this masterpiece of the Tabriz School during this period of time. In this paper, using historical-comparative method, images of the Tahmasebi Shahnameh have been qualitatively and quantitatively compared with the images of four Ottoman Shahnamehs. The results show that the visual elements and the subjects of images were influenced most, though Ottoman artists have tried to changethe atmosphere of events, particularly the architectural elements of the images, which is the most pronounced difference of the Iranian and Ottoman paintings.